Steel Mills

Nucor Adds Blast and Prime Line to New Kentucky Plate Mill

Written by David Schollaert

November 18, 2021

Nucor Corp. will add a blast and prime line to its greenfield steel plate mill currently under construction in Brandenburg, Ky. The blast and prime line will have an annual capacity of approximately 120,000 tons and will provide the Nucor Plate Group with even broader capabilities and offerings for buyers of wider and thicker plate products.

NucorThe Charlotte-based steelmaker broke ground on the new $1.7 billion steel plate in October 2020. The 1.2-million-ton mill is slated to be operational by fourth-quarter 2022. It will produce 97% of the plate products consumed domestically and is strategically located on the banks of the Ohio River in the heart of the largest U.S. steel plate-consuming region, the company said.

“By adding a blast and prime line to our state-of-the-art plate mill, we will be able to better serve customers in key markets, including our nation’s military, infrastructure, heavy equipment, offshore wind and other energy products,” said Johnny Jacobs, Nucor Steel Brandenburg’s vice president and general manager.

In addition to the new blast and prime line, production at Brandenburg will include cut-to-length, coiled, heat-treated and discrete plate ranging from 60 to 160 inches wide, in gauges from 3/16th to 14 inches. The plate mill will employ 400 full-time team members when fully operational, the company said.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is a senior analyst for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. Based in CRU’s Pittsburgh office, David can be reached at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

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